Water-tube connection



Dec. l

W. A. SMITH WATER- TUBE CONNECTION Filed May 20, 1925 Q lll llM, [l .w ....i; V/vvvm ,KN

INVENTOR [umaf 'ZL/z H15 AfToR f Y Patented Dec. 1, 1925.

`U N'TD STATES tssoz PATENT oFNFrcl-z. l

`WILLIAM '.A. SMITH, OF ATI'IENS, PENNSYLVNIA, ASSIGNOR TO INGERSOLL-RAND Y COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

WATER-TUBE CONNECTTON.

Application filed May 20, 1925. y Serial No. 31,505.`

l 10 all whom t may condemn: 4

Be it known that l, VILLIAM A. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of `Athens', in the county of Bradford and State of Pennsylvania, have in'- vented a certain Tater-Tube Connection, of which the following is a specification, accompanied by drawings.`

This invention relates to rock drills of the hammer type, but more particularly to a connection for securing one end of the water tube used to convey water through the drill and the drill steel for the purpose of removing cuttings from the drill hole.

One object of the invention is to enable a water tube to be secured yieldingly in the back head of a rock drill.

Another object is to automatically compensate for wear between the bearing portion of the tube andits seat.

Other objects will be in part obvious and A in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention consists of the combinations ofelements, features of construction and arrangement of parts having the general mode of operation substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated inthe accompanying draw1ngs, 1n which,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal view of a rock drillpartly in section showing the manner in which the water tube is secured in the back head of the drill,I v

FigureQV is an. enlarged detailed section al View of a water tube connection,

VFigure 3 is a longitudinal4 sectional view in perspective of a water plug,

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view in perspective of the plunger, and

Figure 5 isa perspective viewof the wa-` i ter plug` bushing.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figure 1, the invention is shown embodied in a rock drill in which a cylinder A,.a back head B, a front cylinder bushing C, and a front head D are held in operative relation by means of the usual side bolts (not shown). Disposed within the cylinder A is a hammer piston, only the nose E of which is shown, for transmitting blows to a drill steel F supported within the front head D. In this instance, an anvil block G is interposed between the piston nose E and the drill steel F for transmittingl blows of the piston to the drill steel. A chuck H is arranged rotatably within thefront cylinder bushing C and the front head'D and is provided withinternal screw threads J at one vend to receive a threaded chuck jaw K. The chuck jaw K is provided with inwardly extending lugs L which cooperate with wings O car-` ried by the drill steel to prevent vrotation of the drill steel with respect to the chuck jaw K. A chuck key P is disposed within the front end of the front head to vlimit movement of the steel F in a forwardly direction and is provided with clutch members Q which interlock with correspondl ing members R of the chuck jaw K to pre1 vent relative rotative movement between the chuck key P and the chuck jaw K. Move-yv ment of the drill steel in a rearwardly direction is limited by a chuck bushing H press fitted into the chuck Hand is bored to receive the steel F.

Secured to the cylinder A by means of suitable bolts S is a valve 4chest T contain-V inga valve (notvshown) for vdistributing the motive fluid yto the cylinder. Motive fluid is admitted into themachine through a suitable connection U and the motive fluid is controlled by a throttle valve (not shown) having a controlling leverV. Y i

In accordance with the invention, awater tube WV is arranged concentrically through the drill and has a reduced forward end X which extendsinto theL bore of the drill lsteel F. `The tubeW yis provided withl a bulb Y near its rearward end which cooperates withl a 'conical seat Z formed -i'n thefback head for vpreventing leakage Vof fluid between the -bulb and said seat. Suitable means are provided forhold# ing the bulbfirmly upon the seat,Z and, to compensate for any wear which, may 0c cur..between.the bulb and its seat, andto this end, `a hollow water plug I;y is lscrewed into the vback head .andis provided atlitsv outer endwith flats c to v receive a wrench for manipulating. said plug.` A plunger d having a head e is arrangedL slidably with-` in a bore f of the plug b and has a bore g to receive the end of the'tube W and has a counterbore 7L at its forward end to bear against the bulb Y for holding said bulb against its seat Z. Movement of the plunger d in a forward direction is preferably limited by means of a bushing j press fitted into the forward end of the plug. In this instance, the bushing y' also serves as a guide for the plunger d. In order to press the plunger d firmly against the bulb Y, a spring is arranged within a bore o of the plug ZJ and bears at one end against the end wall of said bore and with its other end against the head e of the plunger. The headD e of the plunger is countersunk as at j; to receive the end of the spring. f

vCleansing fluid, such as water, is introduced .into the machine through a connection Q secured to the back head B in any suitable manner; The Connection g communicates with the interior 0f the back head through a passage r.' The water thus entering the back head is conveyed through a groove s, which is in this instance formed longitudinally7 along the periphery of the plug Z), and is admitted into the interior of said plug through a hole t in the rearward end of the plug and thence through a passage u in the plunger CZ and through the tube Y. In this instance, the passage w forms the restricted portion of the water passage through the back head to the tube and controls the supply of such water to the drill steel.

In order to prevent leakage of fiuid from the back head B, a water plug cap fu is screwed on' the end of said plug to compress a gasket w interposed between it and the l back jhead. a V In the operation of the machine, a con-A stant stream of water is caused to flow through the tubeN and the drill steel I" for the purpose of cleaning the drill hole so that a clean rock face may always be maintained for'the drill steel. The water thus utilized is preferably under a constant pressure, but suicient pressure is not at all times avail able for forcing thefwater and cuttings from the f drilled hole, especially in the case of deep hole drilling, and to augment such pressure a certain portion of the actuating fluid is permitted to leak from the front end of the' cylinder and through the anvil block Ginto the drill steel. In this way, a puff of air, 'of-sufficient quantity to keep the drill holeclean at all times is obtained during each rearward stroke of the piston. The above described invention has been found to function in an unusually efficient manner andY its advantages reside chiefly in the fact that a `fluid tight contact will be maintained at all times between the bulb Y and its seat Z since the spring 7c, by its compressiveaetion may be so adjusted that any wear which Lseaeoa may occur between the contacting surfaces of the bulb and the back head will automatically be taken up.

In many drills in which tubes are employed for the purpose herein described and in which there is no provision made for automatically con'ipensating for wear between the tube and its seat, considerable damage is done to the interiorparts of the drill through water entering such parts and washing away the lubricant.

I claim:

l. In a fluid actuated rock drill, the conibination of a cylinder with a back head, a conical seat in said back head, a water tube extending through the cylinder, a bulb on said tube, and a spring pressed plunger for holding the bulb in fiuid tight contact with the conical seat.

2. In a fluid actuated rock drill, the combination of a cylinder with a back head, a cenical seat in said back head, a water tube extending through the cylinder, a bulb near one end of said tube, a plug in said back head, and a spring pressed hollow plunger for holding the bulb in fluid tight contact with the conical seat.

3. In a fluid actuated rock drill, the combination of a cylinder with a back head, a conical seat in said back head, a water tube extending through the cylinder, a bulb near oneend of said tube,'an adjustable plug in said back head, a hollow plunger slidable in said plug, a spring in the plug to force the plunger against the bulb and forming a fluid tight contact between the bulb and the conical seat, and means for limiting longitudinal movement of the plunger.

4. In a fluid actuated rock drill, the combination of a cylinder with a back head, `a conical seat in said back head, a water tube extending through the cylinder, a bulb on said tube, a holle-w plunger to receive the endof said tube seating against said bulb, a spring to force the plunger against the bulb for holding said bulb against the conical seat, a plug in the back head to receive the plunger and the spring whereby the tension of said spring may be varied, a bushing in said plug to guide the plunger and limit longitudinal movement thereof in one direction, means for preventing leakage of fluid from the back head, and ports and passages for conveying'fluid through the back head to the tube.

In'testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

WILLIAM A. SMITH. 

